When Strawberries Grow Up
by ElemenTalia
Summary: Every child has a dream of what they want to be when they grow up, and it’s a dream that usually helps direct them to their future path in life. Ichigo is no different; even he had a vision of what he wanted to be when he grew up.


When Strawberries Grow Up

By ElemenTalia

Beta'd by ElemenTalia and Dark Ice Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way, nor do I own the poem.

Summary: Every child has a dream of what they want to be when they grow up, and it's a dream that usually helps direct them to their future path in life. Ichigo is no different; even he had a vision of what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Authors Note: This poem I found on the Internet, and it is actually quite a lot larger. I cut it down because I didn't think some of the verses fit, and I wanted to shorten the story. I didn't want it going on forever you know. Besides, I thought it would be sort of repetitive.

* * *

When I Grow Up

Old-N-Bold

_When I grow up I want to be,_

_A fireman, just like Jim;_

_I'd put out fires and save stray cats_

_And puppies, just like him._

Ichigo smiled up at his mother, cinnamon eyes shining innocently up at her. She smiled back, her head tilting to the side. "Ichigo, what do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked him.

He blushed slightly, and turned his head away, pouting softly. A mumble finally reached his mother's ears, and she hid a smile behind her hand. "What was that Ichigo? I couldn't hear you."

"I wanna be a fireman…" he repeated, slightly louder.

The smile grew wider. "A fireman? How exciting! Why do you want to be a fireman though?"

The little boy suddenly grew passionate, waving his arms around, a large smile on his face. "I could put out big fires, and save people, and I'd be able to save kittens from tree's, and puppies from their boxes. I'd be able to ride on the fire engines, and everybody would be my friend!" An even wider grin appeared on his face. "Then I'd be able to stop ghosts from appearing, and I'd be a hero!"

His mother smiled, her soft face tinged with the sadness of knowing that things won't be quite how they should be in the future. "That sounds like it would be wonderful, Ichigo. I hope that you're able to become one." She sighed and looked into the sunset.

Left unspoken, and unheard by the little boy were the simple words, _but I know your destiny does not follow that path._

_When I grow up I want to be,_

_A soldier brave and true;_

_I'd fight and stop the enemy,_

_And make it safe for you._

He was dressed in a small suit, his face uncharacteristically sad, and emotionless. As the guests, and ghosts, slowly trickled away, he stepped forward, peering into the coffin as the lid was closed. His small chubby hand hovered over her skin for several seconds, before he whirled around, and ran.

Isshin looked up at the pattering of feet, and stood up quickly, yelling in worry. "Ichigo!" The little boy ignored the shout and continued running. Isshen took several steps before stopping, and shaking his head mournfully.

Yuzu looked up at her father. "Where's Ichigo going?"

He looked down. "He's going on a walk. He needs to be alone right now. He'll be fine," he reassured her.

Standing in the corner of the room, apart from the crowd, a blond man wearing geta sandals, sighed sadly, eyes shadowed by the green and white-striped hat he wore.

Outside, Ichigo continued to run, his breath coming out in short ragged pants. Finally his legs gave up, and he fell, tears streaming down his face. He looked up, through blurry eyes, and noticed that he was by the river where his mother had been killed. He sat up and cried, wailing as though the heavens had fallen down and destroyed his world. Sadly enough, to him though, his world _had_ ended.

Finally his tears dried up, and he simply sat there, watching the lazy river, and the vivid colors of the setting sun. He was numb. Empty. His world had fallen apart at the seams, and it seemed as though it were either his entire fault, or he could do nothing to stop it. He shivered slightly, rain-soaked, and frozen. Words poured out of his mouth, like a raging torrent, and Ichigo was helpless to stop the words.

"Why did you have to go, Mama! Was it my fault? Was it because I ran towards that little girl?" The formerly dried up tears threatened to flow again, and he wiped the wetness away with his sleeve angrily.

As he continued to sob his sorrow, the pain started to calm down, settling into a consistent stream that Ichigo could control.

Finally, he spoke again. "A while ago, Mama, I told you that I wanted to be a fireman," he said quietly, barely over a whisper. He shook his head firmly. "I don't want to be that anymore. Instead, I'm going to be a soldier, so that I can fight in the wars, and protect Karin and Yuzu from anybody that tries to hurt them." He looked up slowly. "If I protect them, will you forgive me for killing you?"

As the silence stretched, Ichigo left the rest of the phrase unsaid. _Because you know Mama, even if you forgive me, I won't be able to forgive myself._

As Isshin watched his son from a distance, he couldn't help but sigh sadly. Unable to hear the words his son spoke, he couldn't help but wonder if his son would be able to survive the harshness of battle that his destiny demanded he survive.

_When I grow up I'd like to be,_

_A doctor or a vet;_

_I'd make all the animals and people well,_

_And safe from any threat._

Jinta burst into laughter, fists pounding the pavement, and tears running down his face. Urahara gazed at him, a smirk fixed firmly behind a fan, while Yoruichi glared at both of them from her spot on the floor, limbs bandaged tightly.

Ichigo smirked as he leaned on the closest wall. "Yeah, it was hilarious. But you know, now that I have experience working on you, Yoruichi, I could probably become a vet. Then I could save you from all the nasty little children who want to 'pet the cute widdle kitty cat.'"

His smirk remained firm on his face as he mocked her, Yoruichi snarling and spiting at him. He continued to tease her. "What are you going to do? Claw my eyes out?" Her rage entered another entire decibel, and Urahara had to fight laughter. Ichigo simply grinned. This was his version of revenge, for all the 'training incidents' he ultimately found himself in because of her.

Finally she calmed down enough to become silent, glaring at him **. "I am going to scratch your eyes out Ichigo. Once I'm fully healed, you are going to pay."

Yoruichi forced herself to stand, and had the horror of realizing, as her gaze caught a small mirror, that one of the bandages was tied in a bow around her tail. And it was _pink. _She twitched as she realized that, with the cone around her neck, she couldn't take the bandage off, especially as it would unravel the wrapping, and cause her more injury.

She glared at him, silently vowing revenge. As Ichigo surrendered to his laughter, Urahara couldn't help but silently add that she was so cute with the widdle bow on the widdle kitty cat. Thankfully, Yoruichi was not able to hear the silent add on, as he was sure that, injuries aside, she would have attempted to kill him.

_Friend, or no friend._

_When I grow up I want to be,_

_A teacher, don't you see;_

_I'd make all the little children smart_

_And clever, just like me._

Rukia sighed as she watched Ichigo glare at his homework. He had been doing the same thing for the past hour, and Rukia had been forced to lay on his bed, bored, with nothing else to do.

"Come on, Ichigo," she whined. "Let's do something else." Ichigo grunted, clearly not listening. Rukia frowned, and tried again. "Ichigo, you've been trying to do that for the last hour! You can take a break." She thought for a second. "I know! Let's go explore and try out some more of those fizzy drinks you showed me, or, even better, let's draw some pictures of Chappy." She held up her notebook and some markers up cheerily. Ichigo flinched.

Finally he looked up, glaring darkly at her from his hunched position at his desk. "I'm busy, can't you go buy some soda's yourself? And don't draw Chappy. Your drawings are a monstrosity, and should be a crime."

Furious, she threw a marker -a blue one- at his face, snarling when he ducked the projectile. "Come on! Why not?"

He rolled his eyes in irritation. "Because education is important. You have a job, being a Shinigami, and you get paid. Or, if you don't get paid, you at least get an allowance from Byakuya. But I'm still alive, and jobs in the living world require you to have an education. The better grades I get, the better chance I have of getting a good job."

Rukia looked confused. "But being a Shinigami _is_ a job."

Ichigo sighed. "It's more like community service. I'm not getting paid for it you know. And it takes money to get food, clothing, and a house." He put on a long suffering look. "Besides, why do you think we spend so much time in school for? It's not for fun!"

She looked shocked. "Oh… I just knew you had to go to school, I guess being in Soul Society made me forget why we had to go… All right then."

Rukia flopped back on the bed, waiting more patiently then before, coloring a picture of Chappy at school. Silently, her thoughts wondered to how dedicated Ichigo seemed to school. A slight smile crossed her face. _He teaches really well… I guess education really is important…_

Ten minutes later, Ichigo finally set down his pencil. "I'm done." He turned to Rukia, who had looked up at the sound of the chair scraping the floor.

The female Shinigami hopped up from the bed with a sigh of gratitude. "Finally."

He rolled his eyes. "Let's go find the others. Maybe we can go to the arcade or something."

Rukia smiled cheerfully as she grabbed her cell phone. "Okay!"

_There are so very many things,_

_I think I'd like to be;_

_But whatever I become I hope,_

_Will be good for you and me._

Ichigo gave a half-smile as he gazed over the large crowd of Shinigami in Gigai form, classmates, friends, and family. He adjusted the strange hat on his head slightly, and hid a grin as he, along with the rest of the graduating year, stood up, and threw their hats in the air. While not a normal tradition, the whole class had voted on a foreign 'American' graduation.

He stumbled slightly into Chad as Orihime jumped on him, throwing her arms about him exuberantly. Ishida, next to the group, smirked in amusement.

The three friends grew silent as a loud beeping interrupted their laughter. Ichigo rolled his eyes, silently counting down in his head. Three. Two. One. "ICHIGO!!!" Rukia's voice rang out from the crowd, and he couldn't help but grin as he, Chad, and Orihime, ran towards the other Shinigami. Renji, the first one to catch up with the running group, laughed.

"Well, you actually made it to graduation. Let's see if you can live past it."

Another smile touched his lips. "Heh. I'm not the one who lost to Byakuya, Renji-chan!"

"Jerk!"

Chad silently laughed at their antics, easily keeping pace with his smaller friends around him. Silently, he couldn't help but add a thankful prayer for the fact that they did make it through the war.

Some dreams are fulfilled, some are not. Some people die, other people live, and some just end up being somewhere in between. Like Ichigo. And Orihime. And Chad. And the rest of the Shinigami.


End file.
